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Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Rbblack2013 (talk | contribs) at 01:16, 18 May 2013 (fixed tone, removed dead links, added refs, and expanded article with criticism). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Mohammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, commonly referred to as the Ali Act, is a federal law that was introduced in 1999 and enacted on 26 May 2000 by the 106th Congress to: 1.) protect the rights and welfare of boxers 2.) aid state boxing commissions with the oversight of boxing and 3.) increase sportsmanship and integrity within the boxing industry (See 114 Stat. 321(3) (2000) ). The Act amends the 1996 Professional Boxing Safety Act by expanding upon legislature against exploitation, conflict of interest, enforcement, and as well as additional amendments.[1] [2] The Act was enacted in response to widespread abuse of boxers by means of exploitation, rigged rankings, and rigged matches.[3]

Congress noted through research that there were a number of problems with the sport of boxing which needed to be changed to ensure the safety and protection of professional boxers. Listed are a number of discoveries made by Congress (see 144 STAT. 322(3) (2000)):

  1. Professional boxing is not governed by any league, association, or any form of an established organization like majority of other professional sports.
  2. The state officials are not ensuring the protection of the boxers and are not aware or informed of contracts boxers have agreed to.
  3. Promoters are taking advantage of the sport by conducting dishonest business affairs. Promoters are not being punished due to some states being less strict about the legal terms that are stated in contracts.
  4. There is no rating system provided to rank professional boxers thus ratings are subjected to manipulation by those in charge.
  5. There has been a major interference in the sport by because of open competition by restrictive and anticompetitive bodies.
  6. There are no restrictions placed on contracts that boxers agree to with promoters and managers.It is necessary to enforce a national contract reform which will guarantee the safety of professional boxers and the public from unlawful contracts and to enhance the integrity of the sport.

The Act has been criticized for numerous reasons. First off, the Act provides rules but the Act leaves the enforcement of these rules to the state without defined guidelines.[1] Other criticism stems from the fact that some believable that Congress has no purpose regulating the boxing industry, especially if it does not regulate any other sport.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b Cooke, Trent. "How the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act Changed Professional Fighting". fitz101. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  2. ^ "LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SUMMARY". govtrack.us. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  3. ^ Baglio, Scott (2000). "The Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act: The First Jab at Establishing Credibility in Professional Boxing". Fordham Law Review. 7. 68 (6): 2257–2259. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  4. ^ Baglio, Scott (2000). "The Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act: The First Jab at Establishing Credibility in Professional Boxing". Fordham Law Review. 7. 68 (6): 2290–2291. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
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